The invention disclosed in my earlier-filed co-pending U.S. application, Ser. No. 514,370 filed Oct. 15, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,292, entitled "Pilfer-Proof Neckband for a Bottle" provided a need for a production machine and process to produce the labelled bottles.
Since the nature of the product calls for shrinking a cellular polymeric material that is oriented for contraction upon sufficient heating onto a glass bottle, for example, that is filled with a product such as food, beverage or beer, the encircling label needs to be contracted onto a relatively cold bottle without benefit of preheat. The cellular material, on the other hand, is a heat insulator and has a relatively low thermal transmission rate through the material from its outside to inside surfaces. In prior processes, such as my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,767,496 and 3,802,942, the cellular polymeric material has been subjected to heating on opposite surfaces by preheating the base article to which the encircling form of the material is applied to a temperature of 225.degree. F. or more. When applying the encircling form of cellular, shrinkable material on capped bottles containing food products or the like, it shoud be apparent that preheating of this nature is impractical, and the bottles need be at ambient temperature when the shrinking by heat takes place. This requires shrinking material onto the "cold" bottle by applying heat sufficient for shrinking it from the external surface. In so doing, the insulating effect of the cellular plastic invariably creates wrinkles in the encircling material as it is shrunken. When using the material as a label or for decorative purposes on the bottle, the random and uncontrolled wrinkling in the material as it shrinks produces an unsatisfactory appearance of the product.
The present invention also provides a machine capable of automatic production for making the sleeves of the shrinkable material from a predecorated or preprinted web supply and assembling the sleeves onto the upper ends of the capped bottles handled in the machine and registered thereby. The bottles receiving the label sleeves are discharged from the machine and conveyed in a heating device that will apply the proper heating for shrinking the labels in place to complete the package.
In the machine, subcombination structures provide the following:
1. The web supply is processed through a knife device making a longitudinal line, partial-depth slit in the material.
2. The web is moved past a device for forming cross-flutes or pleats in the material at spaced intervals so that each sleeve length taken from the web will have two or more pleats therein.
3. The web is then moved onto a feed device which measures a length of the material on a drum surface and a rotary cutter severs the length on the drum into a label blank. The drum carries the leading end of the blank into engagement with a rotary mandrel that has a cylindrical winding surface somewhat less in peripheral dimension than the length of the blank.
4. The rotary mandrel mechanism is provided with a vacuum at the periphery to hold the label blank in place, and a mechanism operates the mandrel to rotate it about its longitudinal axis for wrapping or winding the blank strip thereon. Several mandrels are carried on a rotary turret of the machine and each mandrel unit includes a hot air nozzle system for heat welding or bonding the overlapped ends of the blank on the mandrel. Hot air is furnished by the nozzle which extends the length of the overlapping seam of the blank at a time just before the opposite ends -- the leading and trailing ends of the blank -- are about to overlie one another. The heat is sufficient upon engagement of the overlapped portions to join or heat seal the material at a side seam and form a sleeve.
5. A blank guide block is employed on the machine and it situated adjacent the path of the mandrels in turret rotation. The guide block face is perforated and parallels the path of the mandrels beyond the feed drum. A suction is pulled at the guide block in a direction away from the mandrel, and during travel past the perforated guide surface the free end portion of the blank (the portion not wrapped on the surface of the mandrel) is controlled.
6. A press roll device is situated in the path of the mandrels just beyond the guide block for an engagement with the seam of the sleeve on the mandrel for pressing that heated area of the sleeve, and, if need be, somewhat compressing the overlapping thicknesses of material to smooth out or "feather" the seam on the label.
7. The machine includes a bottle handling apparatus which times the entry of bottles into the machine and conveys them into an indexed co-axial position of registry under a mandrel. The mandrel device includes an axial stripping mechanism which is operated to drive the sleeve from the mandrel and over the bottle cap and neck to its label position.
8. The machine includes with the bottle timing device an applicator device for applying a quantity of adhesive to the bottle neck as it enters the machine.
9. A drive system operates the various devices synchronously, where need be, to perform a continuous production of the machine.
Although the machine herein described are characterized in terms of the preferred embodiment, namely, the production of a shrink labelled glass bottle, the invention may be utilized in forming a sleeve of the material and applying it and shrinking it over a variety of articles, including for example plastic bottles, cans, jars, tumblers or containers of various types and forms.
Various combinations of utilization of the subcombinations in the disclosed machine, or in modifications for utilization of the machine for the production of various articles or products thereon will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art. Although a preferred embodiment is herein disclosed, such disclosure is in no way intended as limiting the invention beyond the scope set out in the appended claims.